June Cookbook of the Month Review – and a Giveaway!!

Make sure and check out the end of this post to find out how to win a copy of July’s Cookbook of the Month!!

I grew up in New Mexico, so I thought I knew Mexican food. Turns out I was wrong. I know New Mexican food, which is suprisingly a little different than authentic Mexican food. The good thing is, though, that I love it all – New Mexican, TexMex, and authentic Mexican food!!

I’m actually glad there were a few surprises for me, because it really helped me to learn and grow through this cookbook. There was such a wide variety in this book, I feel like I only scratched the surface with these 5 recipes!!

Cooking Times Listed in Recipes: noNo. I was able to accurately guess on most of the recipes, but you do have to read through the recipe thoroughly to try to gauge how long it will take you.Number of Photos: low24 total photos. Once again, I wish there were more, but I really think the recipes in this book are enough to sell it!

Difficulty Level of Recipes: mediumI have to admit that I was a bit intimidated just looking at some of these, but surprisingly, all the recipes I made were pretty easy. I don’t think this is a cookbook that a beginner will have an easy time with, but if you are fairly confident, this will be a piece of cake.

Availability of Ingredients: medium to hardI guess this really isn’t a fair question, since the cookbooks I am going through this year have all been cuisines from different countries so far. So yeah, some of the ingredients might be hard to find – like quail or squab. But there is plenty that can be found at either your regular grocery store or at a Mexican grocer. And there is a list of sources at the back of the book for mail or internet ordering.

This has been one of my favorite Cookbook of the Month cookbooks so far this year. Not only were the recipes all delicious, but it left me wanting more. I have been checking the books out of the library since I can’t justify buying a cookbook every month right now, so the real test is if it is a book that I want to own, and I can definitely say YES to that on this book!! In fact, I look forward to trying out some of his other books as well!!

For July, we’re going in quite a different direction. There is a reason I said that I wanted to try different cuisines for this year’s cookbooks instead of saying countries – because I wanted to try some different US cuisines as well. This month, we’re going south for some good, down home southern cooking. I saw The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook at the library and snatched it up, because this is a book I’ve wanted to check out forever. And I’m excited to get started! Make sure and check back tomorrow for the first recipe!

Want to win a copy of The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook?

If so, Facebook is your friend this month!! You get one entry for just being a fan, and then for every 5 friends you suggest Taste and Tell’s fan page to, you get another entry! Just leave a comment on this post if you are a fan, and then leave a separate comment for each 5 friends you suggest Taste and Tell to. There is no way for me to verify, so make sure you are honest – we are going on the honor system here!! (Note – you only have to suggest the page to friends – they don’t necessarily have to become fans, although I’d love for them to!) Here is the link to Taste and Tell’s fan page:

Need to know how to suggest to friends? Go to Taste and Tell’s Facebook page and beneath the cake picture (upper left hand corner), hit suggest to friends. A list of your friends will come up and you can choose which ones you want to suggest the page to. It’s as easy as that!!

You have until the end of July to enter. Comments will be open until July 31st at 10pm Mountain time. The winner will be announced with the Cookbook of the Month post for August on August 2nd. Giveaway is open to US and Canada readers only – sorry all you international readers!!

I'm a FB fan! I've never been big on Mexican food (or at least what passes for it around here), but Rick Bayless takes such a respectful approach to the cuisine that I'm much more interested in giving it another try.